Monday, December 8, 2014

Sometimes you have those days where
you just don't feel good. It's not just a matter of you not feeling well
physically but you also feel spiritually empty and tired. Tired...almost like you have nothing left to give yet you
know that you can't tap out. You try so hard to keep on going but you don't
want to keep going on like this. Pretending. Hurting. Angry. Frustrated.
Empty...

"You've
brought me to the end of myself and this has been the longest road. Just when
my hallelujah was tired, You gave me a new song."

You're tired. You're so tired of
hitting that hard brick wall every single time that you try to go forward.
You're tired of the setbacks, tired of the fall throughs, tired of trying and
feeling like it's not good enough. You just want it to be different this time.
You want to let go and fully let go this time yet it always seems to remain
clenched so tightly in your hand.

You feel as though you don't know
where to go from here. You want it to be different this time but deep down
inside you're scared that it will only remain the same. That little voice
inside tells you that you won't come out of this, you will continue to stumble,
it will only last a week or so and then you'll go back to the same old same
old. Those lies begin to get LOUDER than
the word of God that says otherwise. You feel defeated. You believed for
a moment that it would be easier to give up than to get through this. You
considered throwing in the towel but something inside of you tells that there's still something worth fighting
for. Something has told you, maybe even faintly, that you can't give up. I know this because you chose to
read this.

"I
confess I still get scared sometimes but perfect love comes rushing. And all
the lies that screamed inside go silent the moment You begin."

I know that life can happen
sometimes and the unexpectedness of it all can bring you to your knees. No matter
how strong you are in your faith, you will face some days where the opportunity
to give up will present itself in such a way that it almost convinces you that
it would be easier than pushing forward. Can I be that soft whisper for you
today? You can'tgive up friend and the reason you can't give up
is because what
is on the inside of you is worth fighting for. Please realize that
if there was nothing in you or about you that was worth fighting for satan
would not be working overtime to get you to break! He is fighting you so hard
because he realizes that there is something so great on the inside of you that
he does not want to come out.

"You
remind me of things forgotten. You unwind me until I'm totally undone. And with
Your arms around me fear was no match for Your love and now You've won
me."

Can I remind you of something? Did you forget what 1 Corinthians 15:57-58
says? Well here’s a quick refresher: “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast,
unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that
your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” Victory already
belongs to you because of who you are in Christ. Have you forgotten this fact simply
because you're facing things that are making you feel less than victorious
right now? No one and nothing can take away the fact that you are victorious in
Christ except for you. Don't you get
it? Satan wants you to knock yourself out of a race that you've already won! He can't take victory from you because it's already yours
through Christ Jesus, so instead he tries to get you to give it to him by
giving up. Don't you dare give in and give up on what is rightfully yours.

While you are sitting here looking at the very
things that are trying to take you out and thinking that it is so hard, the
enemy is looking in the future and he is scared because he sees who God has predestined you to be! He sees
you walking in boldness; he sees you
whole in Christ; he sees the overcomer that was on the inside of you
now walking boldly on the outside; he sees the less frustrated peaceful you; he sees the confident you; he sees the souled
out for Christ you; he sees you walking in your anointing; he sees you impacting
and changing people's lives; he sees you pleading the blood of Jesus and breaking generational curses; he sees the best part of you....that you can't even see in yourself
right now and that's why he wants you to give up. Satan isn't attacking you
because you're an easy target. He's not distracting you because he sees you
don't have purpose or that you're going to be defeated. He's not fighting you
because you're a lost cause. Quite the
contrary! He knows that your current
state is not your final destination.
What he also knows is that if he can get you to believe the lies while you’re
feeling defeated, feeling like you lack purpose, and feeling like a loss cause,
that you will abandon the very thing that is on the inside of you. You will
forfeit your purpose and Gods plans for your life. Satan wants you to focus on
where you are and not where Gods will is for you to be. Don't allow your current circumstances and frustrations to lead you to make rash
decisions that will impact your purpose
and destination with God.

"If
I lived a thousand lifetimes and wrote a song for everyday, still there would
be no way to say how You have loved me."

You say “God I'm tired.” God says, My grace
is sufficient for you. I will carry you through this. The enemy wants to
steal what God has planted on the inside of you and the only way he can get it
is if you give it to him. I hope and
pray that you realize that even though you may feel tired, what is on the
inside of you is still worth fighting for.

Friday, October 31, 2014

Have you ever been in a place where you felt as though you
were striving to live for God; you weren’t perfect, but you were really trying.
You were seeking after God and you were intentional about doing things the
right way. You were really trying, yet you had this issue…this thorn in your
flesh as apostle Paul called his, this thing that you just couldn’t seem to shake
and with a heavy heart and tears in your eyes you asked God, “Why won’t You take
this from me?” “Why won’t You heal me?” “Why won’t You help me to overcome
this?” “God, why won’t You do this for me?” The thing is, you’re not coming
from a place of anger or even pride, but it’s from a place of brokenness in your
heart. You think to yourself God I’m not upset with You, I promise I’m not
angry with You. I believe You to be God and I know that You can do this…I just
don’t understand why You won’t God. I don’t expect You to fix it just because I’m
living for You but I have faith that You can Godand I just want to know that my faith isn’t
in vain…God I trust You and I believe You to be who You say You are…God please
take this from me…

Have you ever been in that place? It might be hard to admit
that you have been but there’s a beauty in being real and honest with God. In
our honesty with God, He reveals Himself to us and answers our questions in
ways that we likely did not expect. I had a moment today where I asked
God why won’t You do this for me. Why does this have to be my issue? Why does
this have to be my thorn in my flesh? God…why won’t You do this for me? His
response was in the form of a question as well; am I not still God even if I don’t? If I don’t do this for you am I not
still God? Sometimes in the midst of our hurt, pain, frustrations, and
everything else that our little emotions like to pull on, we forget that the
fact thatGod has not done it for us is
not equivalent to Him not being able to. We know that He can do all things but that's not really the question at hand. The real question is what are you
going to do if He doesn’t do it? How are you going to respond even if He does
not move on your behalf during what you feel is your time of need?

Let’s take a moment and look at apostle Paul as he talks
about having a thorn in his flesh.

If I wanted to boast, I would be
no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it,
because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my
life or hear in my message,7 even though I have received such wonderful
revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in
my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.8 Three different times I begged the Lord
to take it away.9 Each
time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works
best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my
weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.10 That’s why I take pleasure
in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles
that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians
12:6-10, NLT).

Apostle Paul begged the Lord, he pleaded with the Lord, to take this thorn
away from him. God, why won’t You do this for me? Every time His response to
Paul was “My grace is sufficient for you.” Each time that Paul asked God to
take it away I can imagine God saying Paul, don’t you understand? Do you not
get it? My strength is made perfect in your weakness Paul. I see what you’re going
through Paul. I feel what you’re going through Paul. I know you’re
uncomfortable Paul. I know you don’t understand why you have go through this
Paul. I know you want Me to take it away from you Paul. But I want you to know that
My grace is all you need Paul. Now put your name everywhere that you see Paul’s
name…

God is asking us do we really believe that His grace is sufficient? Do we
really believe that it is still enough as we go before God asking Him why He
won’t do this for us? God needs us to realize that it’s enough. It is more than enough. In the moments
of weakness, it’s enough. In the moments of pain and discomfort, it’s enough.
In the moments of frustration and uncertainty, it’s enough. It is enough; His
grace is enough; God is more than enough. Trust me when I say I know it can be difficult to be in a place where you feel like you keep running into a brick wall as you keep dealing with the same issue that it seems like it just won't go away or get better. But are we responding as though we believe that God's grace is sufficient and that it is made perfect in weakness? Just as we have faith that God can change the situation or make it better, we must also have faith in His response that His grace is sufficient. We must really believe that it is enough...even for our issue. Until God gives us a different response we must learn to rest in the truth that His grace is all that we need.

As people who are self sufficient it can be difficult to be in a situation
that you have no control over. It can be beyond frustrating to have to face a
situation that you cannot fix or make right yourself. God says My grace is
sufficient. He wants you to know that you don’t have to carry this weight by
yourself. Stop holding on to it and all the mess and emotions that come with it.
Give it to God today and tell Him whether He does this for you or not He is
still God and you trust that His grace is more than enough. For when we are
weak, then we are strong…

Friday, October 24, 2014

As I stated during the Singles With Purpose online conference, I asked a couple of my fam in Christ if they could give singles some advice for their single season what would it be and this is the response that I got! This is the full list of responses that I got which is a little bit more than what I shared on during the conference. Hope this helps :) 1. Refuse to play the comparison game. Stop looking at all the people your age and what they're doing, whether they are married or just got engaged. 2. Take your eyes off people and fix your eyes of Christ.3. Get involved in the Singles Ministry at your church. No Singles Ministry at your church, maybe God is calling you to start it.4. Get busy for God. Stay Kingdom minded.5. Don't waste this season, start that ministry God has pressed upon your heart, write that book, blog, go on that mission trip, etc.

6. Realize that marriage is not a prerequisite for purpose or ministry. 7. Make friends with other single Christians that live by Hebrews 10:24, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds."

8. Be mindful of boundaries between women and men. Set boundaries.

9. Fully grasp that fulfillment and completeness is found in an intimate relationship with God not a man/woman.

10. Say no to randoms. You know that man ain't your Boaz.11. Don't settle. Wait on God's best for you.12. Don't date just to date with no real purpose in mind. 13. If they don't recognize your worth, chuck up them deuces.14. Recognize that you have purpose no matter what your relationship status is. 15. Spend crazy amounts of time with God. Get in His presence.16. Go to a conference.17. Don't be stagnant, make sure you are growing spiritually. 18. See this season for what it truly is...a gift.19. Read books on the single season. Ladies I strongly recommend you read Lady in Waiting by Jackie Kendall and Debby Jones.20. Do things that you wouldn't normally do like going to plays, ballets, etc. also

21. Working out and eating right because not only will that keep you healthy, you'll be more effective for the kingdom and you'll become confident.

22. Learn how to say "no" to suitors that you just know aren't God's best for you. It may get tempting to go out with them because they're a christian but if you know they aren't it then don't waste time.

23. Ask yourself "then, what?" Or find the "then what" moments in your mind...ex:you work for a six pack then what? You have a great body then what? Basically looking at contentment and desires.

24. Daily challenge your definition of or redefine success/fulfillment by your own standard and GOD'S. (No one else)

25. Try something like going to movies or lunches alone.

26. Travel; be spontaneous, try the things you always wanted to try.

27. Be around married people to see what it's really like.

28. Artistic expressions, reading- not just christian books but all types of books.

29. Find out what you like and don't like about yourself, about life, in others.

30. Take a cooking classes, finishing a degree or 2, start a business, take random classes at a local community college.

31. Run a marathon, join sports teams, get involved in other clubs or groups.

32. Get to know YOU. Fall in love with God and be selfish with your time. Do the things you've always wanted. Create a bucket list and knock those things down.

33. Seek God and get accountability.

34. Have date nights with Jesus and yourself.

35.Learn a new skill, volunteer with your favorite charities/organizations.

36. Ask God to show you His purpose and focus on growing your gifts.

37. Be content with your portion, have an accountability/prayer partner.

38. Pray & study the Word intentionally & continuously.

39. Find other single friends to hang out with.

40. Loving yourself is a big one, everyone says that they love themselves, but I mean like really embracing who you are, to be happy with yourself & be you despite what people say!

41. We all have a past & a lot of the singles haven't moved on from the past. It keeps us stuck, it didn't let us be who we're supposed to be, it makes the season we're in longer.

42. Not paying attention to society. Society says that men have no self control that they can't control their hormones! But that's not true! Guard your heart! Society says that women are emotional, I know that that's not true! All these things keep us from being happy and from experiencing real peace.

Watch the full Singles With Purpose conference here!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT6DVONydac

Sunday, October 5, 2014

With this recipe, I pretty much created it as I was going! FYI I don't do a very good job of using measurements when I create my own recipes; I just sprinkle as I go. Due to this I don't have actual measurements for the seasonings so for everything listed just moderately cover the meat and veggies with your favorite spices and marinade!Ingredients:

Boneless skinless chicken tenderloins (you can also use regular chicken breasts, this what just what I had in the fridge!)

Green peppers

Red peppers

Yellow peppers

Orange peppers

Cherry tomatoes

Sweet onion

Zucchinni

Squash

Lowry's Herb & Garlic Marinade

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Basil leaves

Oregano

Cayenne pepper (a very little bit)

Old bay seasoning (only on the shrimp)

Soul seasoning

Directions: Cut up all of your veggies into squares so that they will fit on the skewers. The shrimp don't have to be cut but the chicken should be cut into at least 3 pieces (4 for larger chicken breasts). Combine seasonings in a bowl with the Herb & Garlic marinade and let each veggie and the chicken and shrimp soak in the combination. Add the meat and veggies on to your skewers in whatever sequence that you like and then grill for 20 minutes. I use the Big Boss Grill, so be sure to set your time based on the heating of your grill settings You can also bake them in the oven as well! It tastes best if you allow the skewers to sit in the marinade for a few hours or overnight.

I paired it with rice with peas and carrots and steamables asparagus in Szechuan sauce. Join the Changed Hearts Healthy Living Challenge for the month of October here!

The mason jar salad idea is super easy and convenient! Depending on what size salad you want, you can get bigger or smaller mason jars to fit your meal. I chose medium size jars because I eat my salads before I eat lunch or dinner so I don't need it to completely fill me up. If you're looking for something that's more fulfilling or all you plan on eating is the salad, you would definitely want to go for a larger jar!

Ingredients: (In order of how it was added in the jar)

Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing

tomatoes

cucumbers

blueberries

red peppers

yellow peppers

spinach and kale mix

walnuts

The most important thing to remember when doing a mason jar salad is to put your crunchy veggies in first that won't get soggy. The items that are more likely to get soggy should be the furthest away from your dressing. You may feel like you need to put a lot of dressing in to fill out the bottom of the mason jar but once you pour it out into a bowl you'll see that you really don't need a lot! You can always add meat to these, sliced eggs, and any other fruit! Join the Changed Hearts Healthy Living Challenge for the month of October here!Reminders:

If you're like me and you don't like coffee, this smoothie is a great alternative for caffeine that will give you the same energy boost! FYI it does look nasty but it does taste better than it will look. Ingredients:

2 cups of almond milk

1 banana

1 orange (I used a navel orange)

1/2 cup raspberries (I used blueberries)

5 strawberries

3 leaf fresh spinach (I used 2 handfuls of a mixture of spinach and kale)

2 ice cubes

In addition to the above, I added a grannysmith apple and flax seeds.

Directions: Wash your ingredients, cup them up and peel off the skin if needed, and blend away! It's easier to blend if you put the ice and any frozen fruit in first.

Join the Changed Hearts Healthy Living Challenge for the month of October here!

I got this recipe from the yummly app which I would highly recommend for great recipes! It's really tasty, super easy to make, and most importantly good for your body. I made a few adjustments to the recipe which I will list in parenthesis! Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter (I did not use butter at all but the butter probably would help to keep the breading to stay on a little better for the side that is on the pan)

1 tbs fresh parsley

In addition to the above I added basil leaves, crushed rosemary, and pepper.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place yogurt in a small bowl and stir until creamy smooth. Add lemon and stir together. (Note: if you do not stir the yogurt first, the lemon juice will make the yogurt curdle). In a separate shallow dish or bowl combine the crumbs, garlic powder, and salt to taste; mix together.

In a 9/x13 inch baking dish place 1 scant pat of butter or margarine for each chicken breast. Rinse chicken breast and pat dry. Dip each breast in the lemon/yogurt mixture, then in the bread crumb mixture (coating completely but not heavily).

Place coated chicken in the baking dish and top each breast with a full pat of butter or margarine. Sprinkle with copped parsley and bake in the preheated over for 1 hours (with thin chicken breasts you can do ~40 minutes). Let cook for 5-10 minutes before serving.

This is the finished product! I paired it with steamables corn and garlic roasted broccoli (just mix olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper as needed for taste, and toss the broccoli in the mixture then bake for 15 min on 375).Join the Changed Hearts Healthy Living Challenge for the month of October here!Reminders:

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Psalms 55:22Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved

I want to
share a real moment with you…I ran home after work one day to cook
dinner for myself. I sat on the couch and turned the TV on. I knew I
needed to have quiet time but I figured I would eat first, calm down
from work, and then afterwards I would have quiet time. So I go to get
quiet before God and He tells me “I want you to fall apart.” Wait what…uhm, no thank You, I’ll pass.
I want you to have a moment where you allow yourself to be broken before Me and confess to Me your heart and your hurts. So of course that knot comes tightening up in my throat and I take a long deep breath and before I can even say okay God,
tears start flowing down my face. (Can I be honest? This is really
difficult for me to write. People don’t understand that the message
typically hits the messenger first so as I’m pouring out to others, I’m
sharing it because God has already wrecked me
with the very word He has given me to share with you). So I put on
some worship music, sit in a chair, and words don’t come out; just
tears…and lots of them. At some point I moved from my chair to the floor
balled up, no words, just tears. The beautiful
thing about God is that He doesn’t need our words sometimes. We don’t
have to say a thing because He knows us so
intimately that He can understand what’s going on through our heart’s cry. Amazing right?!

Psalms 116:1-2I
love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long
as I live.

Nonetheless, God still likes for us to
confess sometimes out loud. Not just so that we acknowledge it but to allow
freedom to come through as we speak the words that have
held us hostage for so long. As the words come out of your mouth it’s
almost like you can feel a snapping and breaking of the stronghold that
the enemy was trying to use to break you down.
So I get up and I feel God saying okay…are you ready to talk now? Lay it all out there. God I’m hurt. I’m hurt.
I am hurt…and it is difficult for me to admit that. I’ve been
dealing with a particular situation for quite some time now and I said
“it just is what it is.” The relationship with a family member will
likely never change and I would be completely okay if
we went our separate ways and never dealt with each other ever again.
God I feel like that would be easier than trying to make something work
that just isn’t working. That was what I had been saying for the last
couple of months. As I sat in my chair I told
God the truth. God I’m hurt that this person just
doesn’t seem to get it. I don’t get why they wouldn’t have included me.
Maybe he’s doing the best that he can but it’s not good enough. I want
to have a relationship with him, but I don’t
want to put myself out there again only for him to drop the ball again
and I’m left feeling stupid. I don’t want to try and put in effort and
he falls short or doesn’t try at all and I feel so stupid for putting
myself out there only to be let down again.
God, what if nothing changes? God I’m guarded because I don’t want to
feel rejected once again by the same person.

The thing about operating in hurt is that you have a tendency to
hurt others. Sometimes it’s intentionally and other times it’s
simply a part of your defense mechanism. You want to protect yourself
from further hurt so you ignore phone calls, you don’t respond at all or
when you do it’s with short responses, and before
you know it your heart becomes hardened not just towards
them but towards others…but the real issue is that we fail to realize
that when our heart is hardened towards people
it’s also hardened towards God. We don’t realize how we take our hurt that people have caused out on God. He sweetly showed me that Angel, you
can’t continue to operate in hurt. Do you really think you can
continue life shut off towards this person and think that it’s not going
effect your relationship with Me?
A hardened heart towards people will very quickly pore over into a hardened heart towards God. God showed me something that made reflect on my heart towards Him. This simple question,
do you not think that I can heal your hurt? Even if you try again and that person fails you again, do you not think that I can heal your hurt?
You have to take down the rabid Rottweiler’s and pit bulls that are
guarding your heart from hurt with an electric fence. While you’re not
letting people in, you’re also
not letting God in. You’re operating in hurt. Even when you’re upset, frustrated, and hurt, God can see behind all of that;
He sees the truth. When everyone else may see that you’re hurt, God sees the core of your hurt and what is fueling it.

If I can be
really honest…there was a point maybe a year or so ago where I felt like
something was wrong with me because I had not met my Adam. Yes, this
was around the time that I was slightly obsessing over marriage….just
a little bit. In my moment of hurt God showed me how I felt like this
person was robbing me of something that I felt like every girl should
have. He showed me how I had said in the past that I didn’t need this
person to be a part of my wedding day. In my moment
of admitting my hurt, God showed me that I really wanted him to be
there. There wasn’t something “wrong” with me…but deep in my heart I
really wanted him to be present and God was giving me an opportunity to
mend that relationship so that he could be but it
was going to be up to me to take the steps to mend it. It was going to
be up to me to not focus on trusting this person with my heart but for
me to
truly trust God with my heart. You see, God needed me to fall apart to say not just to Him but also to myself,
God I trust You with my broken pieces. I trust You to completely
be broken before You because I know that You won’t leave me, disappoint
me, reject me, or let me down like people have. I trust that for my
good, I need to put myself out there to mend
this relationship and even if the person rejects it or falls short, I
trust that You will and You can pull me back together God. I trust that I
will be okay in Your hands.

Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Now I want to be clear, I’m not saying that God wants you to try to
make every single relationship that has fallen apart work. Some doors
are meant to be closed and should never be reopened. But this is my
story and God
has led me to move beyond hurt and operate not just in love but in
trust in Him. I want to encourage you to let go of your hurt.
Stop operating in hurt and trust God to heal you of your
hurt no matter how deep it runs. Whether He leads you to reconcile with
someone who has hurt you or to walk away, trust Him with that. Trust
that He is not going to lead you anywhere that
is going to lead to further hurt. You can trust Him with your heart. So
take a moment and fall apart before Him and share with Him you hearts
cry.